Improvement in rotary engines



first introduced.

"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER VVORRALL, OF SUGARTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROTARY ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 144,722, dated November 18, 1873; application filed september 6,1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER WonnALL, of Sugartown, in the county of Chester and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Compound Rotary Engines, of which the following is a speciiication:

The invention will first be fully described, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawing, Figure 1, Sheet 1, represents a side elevation.V Fig. 2, Sheet -1, is an end elevation, showing thecams on the outside for governing the traveling pistons. Fig. 3, Sheet 2,

is an inside view, showing cross-sections ofl the pistons, with one valve in place, and one removed. Fig. 4, Sheet 2, is a view of one of the annular platesY of the piston-wheels at the inner ends of the pistons. Fig. 5 is a view of one of the pistons with the crank attached. Fig. 6 is a section of Fig. 5 on the line w a'. Fig. 7 is a section of Fig. 3, taken on the line y y, showing the valve through which the steam is conducted from one cylinder to the other.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A is the cylinder into which the steam is B is the cylinder into which the cylinder A exhausts. C is a piston-wheel in each cylinder, which are fast on the main shaft D. E represents the pistons which revolve or travel with the wheels C. Each wheel has three pistons, so that two are always under steam-pressure when the third one is taking steam.

The pistons are of peculiar construction, being longitudinal sections of a cylinder, with a circular head7 E, at each end, upon which are journals GH, to the latter of which a crank, I, is attached.

J J are abutments in each cylinder. The piston-wheel runs so as to just clear these abutments. K represents cavities or arcs of circles corresponding with the size of the piston 0 in the periphery of the pistonwheels. Thepistons,whilebeingcarriedround in the cavities K with the wheels, are turned on their own axes, so as to present no obstacle to the abutments, by means of a system of stationary cams, L, and a rguidingpin, M, the latter on the ends of the cranks I. N'are springs between the cams, opposite the abutments, which the pins M strike, and whichA turn the pin from the outside to the inside of the cams. O is a spiral spring, connected with each crank to aid in the motion.

When the pistons reach the abutments they are turned so as to iit into the cavities K. One of the pistons is seen in this position in Fig. 3. As it leaves the cavity K it is directly turned so that its broad and more iiattened sides take steam, thus making theV ject inward, and are triangular in cross-sec-l tion.

As the wheels revolve, the end of the ribs strikesone of the angles, and turns the valve so that the ports admit and exhaust steam. The seat and valve are seen in Fig. 7. The back motion of the valve is produced by means oi' the spiral spring w attached to the lever X. The action of the engine is reversed by changing the lever It to the aperture Y in the circle T. When the lever stands upright, or at the aperture Z, the steam is shut off, and the engine stands still.

It will be seen that the steam, after doing work, and, consequently, losing a portion of heat and pressure in the rst cylinder, is ex hausted into the second cylinder, where it acts upon the pistons in the same manner,

doing more work, and parting with a larg'e portion ofits remaining heat and pressure. The boiier heat and pressure of the steam 1s, therefore, utilized in this engine to a much greater extent than it is in ordinary reciprocating engines.

Having thus descr1bed my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The cylinders AB, having recessed Wheels springs w, and bar X, arranged in combination G K on the same shaft D, and the former eX- with Jche cylinders A B, as and for the purposes hausting into the latter, in eolnbiiiation with described.

are sectional pistons E, having the eireular PETER VORRALL. head F, constructed and arranged to operate Witnesses: substantially as and for the purpose set forth. T. B. MosHER,

2. The valve a., with the triangular ends a', ALEX. F. ROBERTS. 1 

